Before the mid-1800s, there were no standardized bar exams per se. Instead of this grand exam that you are studying for, future lawyers-to-be would gain their experience and credentials through apprenticeships, self-studying, and oral exams. Although American jurisdictions slowly developed their law schools, post-Revolution legal studies were conducted by “reading for the law,” mostly under the tutelage of a trained lawyer. Like its namesake coined in England, it meant studying from a book. Most people entered the legal profession through an apprenticeship, often under a family member. These apprenticeships required a period of attorney-supervised law office study.
As discussed, a court or panel of judges would evaluate the candidate’s moral and educational qualifications, lowering them if the student was headed towards America’s western frontier areas. This was the prototypical path many attorneys today scoff about. To them, study hours and good grades are the focus. When people first look at the LSAT, they often feel great terror, as if they’re looking into the face of some rabid platypus that is going to rip your nuts off with his crazy freak bill. Most people attack the platypus head on with the baseball bat of LSAT study. If you strike the creature long enough, in a methodical, patient, focused, and driven manner, he’ll eventually expire, opening the doors to law school success.
Hurrah! But for some, his beady eyes and foaming bill are just too terrifying, and while protectively clutching their crotch run to the seemingly comforting, yet soul-breaking arms of business school (which in the world of my schizophrenic metaphors would be a cuddly panda made of money who eats your heart out of your chest with a grapefruit spoon). So is that your only option if you give up on the LSAT? Are the halls of the law permanently closed to you? Well, technically no. But sort of, yes.Somewhat surprising is that there are actually a few ABA-accredited schools that will consider you without an LSAT score, but it’s no walk in the park. Michigan and Georgetown, for example (both of which are truly fantastic schools) will consider you, but you have to be a current student at that school, and a pretty stellar one at that (you need a 3.8 minimum GPA even to be in the running).
So this doesn’t apply to a whole lot of people. But even if you could go to Michigan or Georgetown LSAT-free because of your 4.0 and Fulbright and personal statement about your parents who died in a refugee camp, if you studied for the LSAT and did well on that too, you’d have a whole hell of a lot more options, and might even be able to go to Michigan or Georgetown for free. One great way to prepare for a career as a lawyer is to get involved with a speech and debate team or a mock trial team. Those extracurricular activities allow students to develop their capacity to argue persuasively, lawyers explain, adding that drama also provides solid preparation for a legal career since the performing arts emphasize public speaking skills.
Even an activity that doesn’t initially appear to be related to the practice of law, such as athletics, could prove useful to an aspiring attorney if it helps him or her develop and demonstrate personal discipline. In addition, aspiring lawyers should be studious, since law is a scholarly field that requires intellectual prowess, according to legal experts. Jason Ruen – an executive attorney at Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers, a national personal injury law firm – notes that only seven states allow someone to practice law without a law degree. Wyoming, New York and Maine require some formal legal education, although they don’t mandate completion of a J.D. degree. “It’s a very old model of becoming a lawyer, and one that was more common before the widespread availability of law schools,” he says.
“It is not a shortcut. In fact, it will likely require more time than just going to law school.” The evolution of North American legal education has been a gradual process that has undergone significant changes over time. Early legal education in North America was primarily based on apprenticeships where young lawyers would work under experienced practitioners to learn the craft. However, this system was informal, and the lack of standardized training resulted in varying levels of legal competence among practitioners. The development of formal legal education began in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The first law school in North America, the Litchfield Law School, was established in 1784 in Connecticut. The curriculum at this school focused on common law, contracts, and property law.
Over time, other law schools were established across North America, and the legal education system became more formalized. In the 20th century, the legal education system underwent significant changes. The case method of teaching law, which involved the study of case law and analysis of legal precedents, was developed and adopted by many law schools. The 1960s and 1970s saw a significant expansion in legal education, with many new law schools being established across North America. This expansion led to an increase in the number of law students, and legal education became more accessible to a wider range of students. There were no law schools in colonial America. Those who sought a legal career had several options.
They could embark on a self-directed course of study; they could serve as an assistant in a clerk of court’s office; or they could travel to England to study at the Inns of Court. The most common method of obtaining a legal education, however, was through the apprenticeship system. The apprenticeship system allowed men (it was generally unavailable to women) to acquire education and experience by working under an experienced practitioner. Ideally, an apprentice would spend several years learning both the law and the practical aspects of a law practice. The quality of apprenticeships varied greatly, however, depending on the administering attorney’s skill and attention.
Some apprenticeships were merely a source of cheap labor. thomas jefferson once commented that the services he was expected to render as an apprentice were worth more than the instruction he received. Langdell also instituted tighter admission standards, expanded the program from two to three years, and raised graduation requirements. Other university law schools soon began to adopt some of Harvard’s lofty standards. Furthermore, technological advancements have also impacted legal education, with many law schools incorporating online learning and hybrid learning models. The use of technology has allowed for greater flexibility and accessibility in legal education, enabling students to learn from anywhere in the world. Overall, the evolution of North American legal education has been marked by a gradual shift towards more formal and standardized training.
An increase in accessibility and diversity, and a focus on specialized legal education to meet the needs of a changing legal landscape. Langdell believed that law could be taught as a science. Rather than listening passively to lectures and reading treatises, Langdell’s students dissected reported case decisions. Using a technique known as Socratic dialogue, professors bombarded their students with questions, forcing them to analyze the facts, reasoning, and law in each case. In addition, Langdell grouped related cases together, devoting separate books to different topics. Langdell’s method of instruction through dialogue and case-study is standard in today’s law schools.
Langdell also instituted tighter admission standards, expanded the program from two to three years, and raised graduation requirements. Other university law schools soon began to adopt some of Harvard’s lofty standards. The Harvard Law Review publishes articles by professors, judges, and practitioners and solicits reviews of important recent books from recognized experts. Each issue also contains pieces by student editors. Published monthly from November through June, the Review has roughly 2,000 pages per volume. All articles–even those by the most respected authorities–are subjected to a rigorous editorial process designed to sharpen and strengthen substance and tone. The November issue contains the Supreme Court Foreword (usually by a prominent constitutional scholar), the faculty Case Comment, twenty-five Case Notes (analyses by third-year students of the most important decisions of the previous Supreme Court Term), and a compilation of Court statistics.
The February issue features the annual Developments in the Law project, an in-depth treatment of an important area of the law. The history is also a battle of ideas. Ideas over what the law is, how it should be taught and the kinds of students a law school should produce. Frequently, law schools have been the battleground of fierce intellectual rivalries, with rival schools of thought battling for supremacy and control over the future of the curriculum. The major battle has been between those who saw law as a liberal art and those who saw law as a science or trade, with an instrumental, technocratic or doctrinal mindset. Admittedly, there have been other forces at play; those who sought to teach law as a ‘gentlemanly’ art or as part of a Christian mission or those who sought to cement the status quo.
However, even in these few instances, the battle has been between those who sought to teach law broadly and those who sought to teach law narrowly. Over time, the latter group has largely prevailed, creating the modern legal education system that we know today, one that is dominated by a view of law as a technical skill, taught narrowly as a vocation or trade. Although law readers have advantages, different aspects make academia attractive to many consumers. Many people feel the assistance of a law professor and college course before an attorney’s practice is the only viable method to practice law. Most people won’t even be aware of an alternative to law school. Even then, many naysayers feel no JD will limit their career options or the number of job options in their local communities or location they wish to practice law.
Law school graduates need only attend classes and eventually become practicing attorneys. Paying law school tuition to practice law operates as a bar-to-bar entry for many underprivileged folks. Hands-on experience is something most other state bar organizations don’t offer, so it’s a rare path to follow, in my opinion. Bypassing this without going to law school obviously makes law school graduates upset, so don’t expect to find supervising attorneys to study law under easily. No, it has its disadvantages too. For one, there are no law school scholarships or grant dollars when you seek a law license. Being a committed law apprentice is no easy task. The jobs you get while studying law are your entry into practice, not a list at your law school cafeteria or student lounge. The dollars you earn will be based upon your business sense, not employment at a law firm.
Passing the bar exam is the primary mission of all future legal professionals here. The reality is the negativity you will get from others as you go through all the study material. Putting it all together means that only former military vets and highly disciplined, merit-based achievers will stand a chance at victory. Other states don’t offer a substitute for law school, let alone preparing for the bar or being eligible without a JD. Hold out Wyoming recently eliminated its law study program. So don’t think a national conference of bar examiners is in any rush to start an apprenticeship program in a city near you! Even after achieving a certain number of study hours, you won’t have a support network as you would have in law school. So if you are not a naturally driven, high achiever, you can forget about becoming a lawyer under the supervision of an attorney.
Even then, don’t expect pay to be taught the art of law. You will have four straight years of arduous study before being admitted to the bar. And along the way, you still must pass the Baby Bar. NACLE was formed in 1999 to promote increased understanding within North American countries of neighboring legal systems by providing opportunities for cross-border research, curriculum development, and student exchange. NACLE U.S. member schools also include the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and the University of Houston Law Center. JD students may apply to participate in the Consortium as a visiting student in their second or third year for one semester at one of NACLE’s Canadian or Mexican member institutions: Dalhousie University Faculty of Law in Halifax; McGill University Faculty of Law in Montreal; the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law;
Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Escuela de Derecho in Monterrey; Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas in Mexico City; and Universidad Panamericana Facultad de Derecho in Mexico City. Credits earned as a visiting student in the NACLE program count toward the total credits required for the JD degree at GW.The North American Consortium on Legal Education (NACLE) is an explicit recognition by its member law schools that law professors, law students, and lawyers are increasingly confronted with complex legal issues as a result of the interaction between institutions and individuals across North America. Effective legal education, and lawyering, in the 21st century requires an understanding of the similarities shared by the legal systems of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, while at the same time remaining sensitive to their differences.
